David M. Klaus

David M. Klaus, Ph.D. biographical sketch

Research Interests: Bioastronautics: human spaceflight, spacecraft habitats, spacesuits, life support technologies and gravitational biology

David Klaus obtained a BS in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University in December 1984 and promptly embarked upon a career in the space program, initially working as a Shuttle Launch Controller at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida and supporting planned flights from Vandenberg AFB in CA, later moving to Mission Operations at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. His professional experience spans shuttle life support systems, thermal numerical modeling, advanced spacesuit test and analysis, and EVA operations.

In 1990, Klaus joined BioServe Space Technologies as a Research Assistant and began graduate studies at the University of Colorado, where he obtained his MS and PhD in Aerospace Engineering Sciences. He spent 1994-95 in Germany as a postdoctoral Fulbright Scholar matriculated at the University of Bonn while conducting clinostat research at the DLR Institute for Flight Medicine in Cologne, returning to BioServe in 1995. He acquired additional international training in space biology and medicine in Russia during the summer of 2002. Klaus was a NASA Astronaut Candidate finalist in 1998 and 2000.

Dr. Klaus is now a Professor in the CU Aerospace Department, where he has been on the faculty since 2002. He was involved with BioServe for 25 years in varying capacities in support of biotechnology payloads flown on more than 50 missions aboard the Shuttle, Progress, Soyuz, HTV, Dragon and Cygnus, and to Mir and the International Space Station, serving as Associate Director from 1999-2015. He is the lead PI for CU on the FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation (COE CST), established in 2010, serving as Executive Director of the Center since 2018. He also currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Habitats Optimized for Missions of Exploration (HOME) NASA Space Technology Research Institute, established in the fall of 2019 led by UC Davis. Prof. Klaus has authored or co-authored over 150 scientific articles and technical reports and given more than 50 invited presentations. His academic career has been focused on establishing and internationally expanding a graduate curriculum in Bioastronautics, the study and support of life in space.

Professor Klaus is a CU President’s Teaching Scholar and a Fellow of the AIAA. His research and teaching recognition includes the Thora W. Halstead Young Investigator Award from the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology (ASGSB) in 2003, the Educator of the Year Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Rocky Mountain Section in 2004, the Boulder Faculty Assembly’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2007, the CU Provost Faculty Achievement Award in 2007, the College’s Charles Hutchinson Memorial Teaching Award in 2011, the Aerospace Department’s Outstanding Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award in 2014, the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES) Award for Technical Excellence in 2019, and the Dean’s Faculty Performance Award and the Department’s Distinguished Performance Award, both in 2021.

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Career in pictures…

OV099(small)

JSC FCC 1987

MkIII(small)

1990 Private Pilot

Klaus_Dave (FPA prep) (small)

In the Challenger orbiter at Edwards AFB, CA (1985)

In the Payload Bay of Atlantis at NASA KSC (1985)

Mission Control Center at NASA JSC (1987)

Advanced space suit prototype at NASA JSC (1988)

Launch and Entry Suit (LES) at JSC (1989)

Diving in the WETF at JSC, lower back of photo (1989)

Private Pilot (1990)

Preparing a BioServe payload for launch at NASA KSC (1993)


Fulbright Scholar, Guest Scientist at the DLR in Cologne, Germany (1994-95)	NASA Astronaut Candidate Finalist (1998 & 2000), VO2 max treadmill stress test	BioServe payload ops at NASA Mission Control Center in Houston (1999)	Microgravity simulation technique called Dry Immersion at the IBMP in Moscow (2002)	Space Habitat Mockup development at CU Boulder (2007)	Advanced Spacecraft Concept at NASA JSC (2014)	Space Shuttle trainer at NASA JSC (2016)